While everybody was hooked with the summer Olympics, the National Basketball Association has gone busy with the number of acquisitions between teams. If you think you have missed a lot of action during the offseason, read on and know the things that you ought to know before the season starts.

First of, the defense specialist of the Denver Nuggets, Marcus Camby, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. The reason is to secure the Nuggets an earlier draft choice in the future. For the past seasons, Camby has been one of the best blockers, averaging 3.2 blocks per game. The solidity of Camby’s made him the primary defender of the Nuggets and without him now, the team sure needs to find the best way to boost their weak defense.

During the offseason, there have been rumors of Baron Davis leaving the Golden State Warriors. The rumors were made valid by the ex-Warrior by signing a 5-year contract with the Clippers. Apart from the $65 million, the Clippers have another price to pay with the acquisition and that was giving up Elton Brand for the Philadelphia 76ers.

But none of these big movers can ever beat the biggest of all, which involves the Seattle Supersonics. Sad to say folks, the Sonics will no longer be in the lineup of teams this upcoming season or the next. The move does not literally mean that the Sonics and its players will be gone for good. This move only meant that the team will shift to a new home – Oklahoma City.

Everybody has been hooked with the unbeaten status of the Americans on the men and women’s basketball team that some of us have not been aware of the noteworthy events in the NBA. The game is sure to be more thrilling this season.

The unbeaten US team fought for the gold by routing the Koreans 104-60, during the quarterfinals. The win gave them the ticket for the semifinals that led against the Russians. The game was tough for the Americans but survived with a 67-52 win. And at last the game for the gold which has left Australia waiting for the silver.

This NBA-powered team simply dominated throughout the tourney, averaging 37.6 points in eight games. Like the US Men’s Basketball team, the team was no doubt the best. Thompson was ahead in scores in three games, which included the fiery 27-point game against the Chinese team in the preliminary round. Adding to the team’s edge is Leslie, who did a superb job in taking care of the rebounds and in staying consistent on the defensive end. Kara Lawson, the Olympic newbie but 6-year NBA veteran, provided a huge difference off the bench that sealed the final game for the Americans.

The preparations made by the men and women’s basketball team of the US for the Beijing Olympics were apparent in every game. The women’s team in particular showed experience and edge and so far, no other team in the international league was able to match well against them. But until that day comes, the US women will savor the golden victory for their team and their country for the fourth time in a row.

Now that the US men’s basketball team has succeeded in redeeming the lost honor, now perhaps is the time to asses if the team has a bright future ahead. Well the answer is in the affirmative side. The US basketball team has a bright future and it will be interesting to see whether how the team will perform in next Olympic Games scheduled for London. This will be an interesting time as well to assess how the other teams will fare as well. Of course one way to ascertain the chances of the team to hit it big in the international basketball scene it is imperative that we should take a good look at the kind of team other countries will be sending. It’s the composition of the opposing teams that can make or break the participation of Team US in the next international competitions. According to the talent organizer for the team, there is plenty of time to address the next games and the right infrastructure is already in place and with that the team has a great future in international competitions.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski will be back to his regular workload with Duke. If coach K will no longer coach the team in the next games, then the team has a deep pool where they can select the next good coach. One name has been floated is that of New York coach Mike D’Antoni. There is another name that is floated around and that name belongs to Nate McMillan. He is connected with the Portland Trail Blazers. But what makes a good coach for the US team?

Well the lucky coach should have the ability to command attention and to tell the highly paid NBA players what they need to do. There should be that respect as well, and coach K has that.

The US women’s team duplicated the feat of the US men’s team by winning the gold. The team defeated Australia and the win is not only significant for the team but significant as well to one of its players, Lisa Leslie. This was yet another memorable Olympic run for Lisa Leslie. She is the only athlete to win four gold medals and she is also undefeated at the games. The last loss that was suffered by the team was in 1992 and after that time the US women’s team romped to 33-0 in the Olympic Games.

Lisa Leslie made sure that the team will get the win and the gold by scoring 14 points. But Leslie fouled out with 6:33 left in the gold medal match. By this time it didn’t mattered as the team has already the game on its side. The win by the team also brought the total to 26 current and former WNBA players who have earned their medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The WNBA was heavily represented on the games for this Beijing edition, with 39 current and former players on many teams that participate in the games. These players from the league participated for 10 to 12 countries in Beijing.

The win was also significant for Anne Donovan who became the first female to win the gold medal as a player and also led a team to gold as its head coach. The accomplishment by Leslie effectively ties that of Teresa Edwards as winning the most ever gold medals in women’s basketball. Leslie earned her gold in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 and Edwards on the other hand earned her gold in 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000 and another bronze in 1992.

The 2008 season of the WNBA will resume play on August 28.

What was supposed to be a tough opposition coming from Australia fizzled out as the US men’s basketball team scored another romp. The easy win by the US team was anchored on the efforts of Kobe Bryant who led the team. The effort of Kobe Bryant was his best yet in Beijing and thanks to his contributions, the US Olympic team advanced to the semifinals. The score was 116-85.

The win by the US over Australia sends the team against the defending champion Argentina on Friday night and the winner will advance for a spot in Sunday’s gold medal match. The Argentina team defeated Greece 80-78 for a place in the semifinals. Bryant and the rest of the US coaching staff watch the Greece and Argentina game from the baseline. Team Argentina was the team that beat the US in the semifinals of the 2004 Olympics.

The Australian team started the game strong and hinted that the team will stay close throughout the match. The performance of Team Australia remained for the first 15 minutes of the game. Their performance duplicated the one that they have shown at the exhibition in Shanghai on August 5. In this exhibition match, the team Americans led by only seven points midway into the fourth quarter. But what was supposed to be a tough contest and even an upset was snapped early in the second half as the US team made its move. Their hopes of a tough game and an upset fizzled out as the US team started the 14-0 run that featured nine points coming from Bryant.James added 16 points to the team. Two more wins by the American team will give the team its gold medal, their first gold medal in a major international competition. Mills led the Australian team with 20 points.

The ‘Redeem Team’ of the US men’s basketball scored another blowout, and this time at the expense of Germany. The score on Monday was 106-57 and the team moved up to 5-0. The win by the US men’s basketball team positioned them to a quarterfinal match against the toughest test for them in the Olympics- Australia. In an exhibition match two weeks ago, the US team seven points midway into the fourth quarter before posting a tough 87-76 win. The Australian team that the US faced two weeks ago didn’t feature Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks who was injured at that time.

But at the rate things are going, it is expected that the US team will not experience another scare just like what happened against Australia two weeks ago. Members of the Germany team like Chis Kaman said that there’s no team that can beat the US right now. The five games of the US in the pool games were done in excellent fashion as the team averaged 103 points and they won by an average of 32.2 points.

Kobe Bryant finished the game with 13 points and shot 55 percent from the field and tried 11 three pointers. The other unbeaten team in the competition could have been Lithuania, but the team was beaten by Australia 106-75. If the US started the game strong three seconds into the game, the Germany team on the other hand missed nine of their first 10 shots. This opening signaled that he game will be wide open. Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks led the Germany team in the Olympics. Against the US team, he scored 14 points. It was a disappointing run for the Germany team as it limped home with a 1-4 record. Team Germany started strong after routing Angola, but suffered four straight losses.

The Spanish team led by Lakers player Pau Gasol was no match for the stronger US basketball team. The win by the Americans was their fourth win in as many outings and this sends them at the top of their group. This means that they will be seeded first in the quarterfinal round. Four games won for the Americans and another four games to win in order to secure the gold medal in the men’s basketball.

The world champions Spain was no match for the Americans right from the start. The US players meant business at the start by making a number of three point shots and this set the tone for the rest of the game as the US basketball team posted an easy 119-82 win.

LeBron James converted 18 points on the floor, and all members of the team contributed on the scoreboard. Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony added 16 points each. With the win by the Americans, they will next face the Number 4 seed from Group A and that team could either be Australia or Croatia. This means that the team will not face Lithuania, another unbeaten team and Spain until the gold medal game.

The Spanish team was a stronger team at least on paper. Spain is the 2006 world champion, and the team has won eight of their last 10 Olympic games. The two losses of the team were dealt by US. Felipe Reyes led the Spanish team and scored 19 points on the floor. In order for the US team to win the medal, they have to play four more games. The Spanish team tried to neutralize the US players by opting for the zone defense. But the plan was foiled as the Americans made sure that ball movement was good and the US players shot a number of three pointers that helped sealed the game for them.

It was the turn of the US Women’s team. The US team scored a decisive victory against China and with that win, US started its hunt for the gold medal. It was a sweet redemption for the US Women team, since the last two teams met, China took home the gold in a tournament held in Beijing last April.

The tournament that was held in April was an event to baptize the new Olympic Basketball Gymnasium and the team of China featured most of the Chinese Olympians. The Chinese team dealt the US team a three-point loss. The US team that participated at that even included four US Olympians that include Fowles, Kara Lawson, Lisa Leslie and Katie Smith. US center Fowles said;

They’re not going to do that to us again.

Tina Thompson made sure that the set-back will not happen again as she led the team in a big 108-63 win against China. Most of the points of Thompson were scored in the huge run that happened as the first quarter is about to end. The run set the tone for the big blow-out. The team led as much as 45 points and finished with a respectable 56.8 percent from the field. Lisa Lesli added 10 points for the team and Candace Parker added another 12 points.

Center Sylvia Fowles added 18 points and another eight rebounds. The win by the American women was their 27th straight in the Olympics and this year the team is attempting to seek their fourth straight Olympic gold medal.

Miao Lijie was the top scorer for the Chinese team and Chen Nan submitted another 14 points to lead China’s charge. The result against China left United States as the only unbeaten team in Group B.

On Sunday, the men’s US team set the tone as the team won over host China in the widely watched match.

The second women basketball game group B match that took place in the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium now has an official results. At 11:15 a, the match between Mali and  New Zealand took place.

And the winner is…New Zealand Women’s Basketball team! New Zealnd beat the Mali team with the scores of 76-72. Such a close fight!  the New Zealand Women’s Basketball team beat Mali in a in the preliminary round of the Olympic Women’s Basketball tournament on Saturday, August 9.

August 9 - The first Women’s Basketball preliminary round match of group A was held today, and Australia smacked down Belarus. The game was held in Wukesung Culture and Sports Center. The Australians won the game with the scores of 83-64.

Here are the official picture of the each of the Women’s basketball team:

Australia Women’s Basketball Team

vs.

Belarus Women’s Basketball Team

Photo credit: en.beijing2008.cn